Researcher: Rollable displays unfold in 2015

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. – Rollable color displays could become available as early as 2015, according to a leading researcher in the field. The displays are expected to enable a new class of mobile products.

That's the rough estimate of Janglin Chen, general director of the display technology center at Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute. ITRI's flexible display beat more than 590 submissions to win a gold innovation award sponsored by Dow Jones this week.

Researchers like Chen are still looking for a mechanism that would let consumers roll a smartphone- or tablet-sized display in and out of a system the size of a fat crayon. Today's flexible displays are bendable but cannot be rolled so tightly or often without damaging the materials.

"For bending, we can do this 15,000 times in the lab without deterioration of the screen's performance, but to make a device that's rollable by consumers who are more abusive requires a more sturdy design," said Chen who demonstrated a prototype in a video interview.

ITRI has licensed its technology to Taiwan's AU Optronics which is preparing to make displays that will appear in e-readers from BenQ in 2011. The displays will be built in an existing Generation 3.5 LCD fab.

The technology uses a plastic material that can withstand the high temperatures of TFT LCD processes. The approach requires two new manufacturing steps—a coating at the beginning and a de-bonding at the end. ITRI has licensed its technology to a Taiwan equipment maker who is creating the manufacturing equipment.

Competing approaches from companies such as Polymer Vision and Plastic Logic use an organic material that requires low temperature manufacturing techniques, said Chen. ITRI's displays have the same color and contrast capabilities as similar sized conventional TFT LCDs.

"This opens up the mindset for the designer for new kinds of toys, medical sensors or other products," said Chen.

Engineers could use the technology to develop electronic displays that mimic the features of paper. For example, designers could build a portable x-ray display that could be wrapped around an arm or leg, he said.

Although rollable displays are still at least five years off, ITRI is working on versions of its current bendable technology for Organic LED displays and touch screens.

ITRI researchers are working with AU Optronics trying to find a plastic material that could protect OLEDs from oxygen and moisture. Separately, ITRI is working with an unnamed touch-screen technology provider on a touch-screen version of the TFT LCD flexible display with products expected in one to two years.

Sorry for my lack of knowledge on the subject as I'm just a programming student, but wouldn't graphene work well as a backing for such a device. From what I've read, graphene has transparent properties, can conduct electricity if needed, is extremely flexible/bendable, and wouldn't be bothered by heat when making the product in factories. Graphene should probably be ready for 2015 if it's going to take some time anyway. I welcome corrections to my thinking as I'm in no way sure if it's feasible--I'm just not aware of why it couldn't be used as a backing material.

I too have the same doubt. How about the conductive polymers? Please share if you have information about how the conductive polymer technology is progressing or any other technology that might take place of the LCD.

A lot can happen in 5 years. For the past decade and more, someone has always been predicting rollable flexible, and even wearable, displays "in a few years". Sure, someday one will finally come along. I doubt it will be LCD.

Imagining...someday in the morning we only will need to switch the power on our electronic newspaper...or students will need to carry only one book to the school for all subjects (might have only one page?)...shall save the trees as well! :-)

Remember the old pull-down projector screens in class rooms and conference rooms? Those settings would require somewhat larger versions of the roll-up display, but the usefulness would be the same. Have the display out when you need it. Hide it when you don't.
For smaller systems, like phones and note books, a roll-up screen could dramatically improve on the portability as well as reduce the weight. The only down side is that for all of those folks browsing the web on mini-smartphone screens, the market for reading glasses could go away with a light-weight, roll-up display.

It was also in the movie, "Red Planet", (probably one of the coolest things in the film). There is a scene where the astronauts pull out these large rollable displays out of their pockets to create a 180 degree overlay of the GPS map on the visible landmarks. They better hurry up getting this to market though before they perfect the wearable (wireless power and signal, disposable) contact lens display.

In the late 90's, there was a cheesy syndicated sci-fi show called "Earth: Final Conflict" based on an old idea from Gene Roddenberry of Star Trek (his widow pursued the idea). Set in 2015, people were predicted to use roll-away video phones with pull-out screens that were easier to carry and store than even the emerging candy-bar or clamshell (e.g., StarTac!) models that were then appearing.

A bit of Googling shows that Wistron (part of Acer) bought the bankrupt Polymer Vision, and Wistron is in a joint venture with AU Optronics, mentioned in the article. So the rollable ebook may be back next year.

The advantage is that you could pull a 14" rolled up display out of your pocket, hook it up to your iPhone, and watch a movie.
Polymer Vision created Readius, pocket ebook that used a rollable display, but they went bankrupt before selling the product.

It's not clear to me what the big advantage with in flexibility, except in the presumption that lighter displays will also be more reliabile and potentially less expensive. Most displays tend to be flat. Perhaps something high resolution and wearable?